Carlos Sainz questions Red Bull ‘values’ after Lando Norris tape removal
Red Bull was punished for a breach of the regulations on the grid.
Carlos Sainz has questioned the values of the Red Bull employee who removed tape meant to assist Lando Norris during the United States Grand Prix.
Red Bull was fined €50,000 by the FIA for re-entering gate well area after the start of the formation lap, but it has been claimed the staff member attempted to rip off tape meant to show Norris where to line up in his pit box.
Carlos Sainz passes judgment on Red Bull fine
McLaren has been well-known to apply tape to the side of the track in order to give Norris a reference point when lining up after the formation lap and ensure that he is within his pit box.
However, the Red Bull staff member is claimed to have attempted to remove that tape, although it did not affect Norris who was able to park his McLaren where it needed to be without the visual aid.
A week on, and the drivers were asked about Red Bull’s reported antics with Carlos Sainz the most vocal. The Spaniard questioned the “value” of doing that and said he knew what he would do if he were the team principal.
“I’m lucky to have a very nice line of reference in my car that helps me line up,” he told PlanetF1.com and other media in Mexico. “But I’ve been in cars before that don’t have this possibility and you need the tape on the wall to align yourself with the grid slot, so it completely depends.
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“But I do know if I was Red Bull team principal, what I would do for someone who tried to do that.
“I think it’s something that Lando needs in order to align himself with a grid box and obviously someone saw a competitive advantage by trying to take that away from him.
“I’m not going to elaborate, you’re not going to get a headline from me here, but I know values in sport and what I would do if that was me and my team.”
Sainz went on to state that it was something he would bring up in Qatar when a discussion is set to be held around driving guidelines.
“The line of reference is just something the sideboard has, it’s just where the two fixers align and I am lucky that it coincides exactly with the yellow line, and I align myself to that, and it’s pretty much spot on.
“So I don’t see any competitive advantage in that, I see that as basic racing stuff, basic fairness to go racing.
“I think it’s not something to discuss in the drivers’ briefing, because it’s not like you’re going to change anything, I think it’s something maybe to discuss more in Qatar, where we are having a conversation about rules in general, about driving guidelines.
“Which is something I was being quite vocal about. A guideline is not a rule, a guideline can help you to see an action or try and evaluate an action, but it’s a guideline, it’s not a rule.
“And sometimes these guidelines are being applied for any kind of situation on track, which I find a bit interesting and not exactly the way I would judge an action if I was a steward.”
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Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock
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